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Since my FD started life as a touring model equipped with the OEM fog lights, I decided to restore that feature, and purchased a perfect set of fogs & brackets from a forum member. The brackets have 2 studs that are supposed to go into mating holes in the bumper reinforcement beam, and secured with M6 nuts & washers from above. The problem I'm having is I can't get access to 1 of 2 studs to thread a nut from above. The "outer" stud/nut (green highlighted in diagram below) was easily accessible from above with some finagling, but the "inner" one (yellow highlight) is not even visible from any angle, or reachable by feel.
If anyone has any tips on how to get to that 2nd stud/nut I'd appreciate it. I tried removing the turn signal lens, thinking I might have access that way, but that was a no-go. As far as I can tell, I think the only way to get to this damned stud is to remove the bumper skin. Unfortunately with only 1 nut secured, the fog light will jiggle around under its weight/car's motion.
Pete, unfortunately the correct way to install them is to remove the bump skin. You have to remove the rebar also, if I remember correctly. You mount the bracket (51-684) on the rebar and fog harness then reinstall. After you have it back together you plug in the light housing and slide it into the post and it retains with a screw. It’s been a bit since I installed a set, but there should be a plastic filler that goes on the bumper skin also. This curves around the light housing to make it more aesthetically pleasing.
^ Correct, I removed mine with the rebar off, I think I just did the whole assembly instead of bracket and housing separately. And yea, there’s a moon shape plastic filler on both side.
Without the fogs there is a filler blank on some cars. I believe this is to force air to the middle and onto the radiator and I/C duct. The smaller fillers for the fogs may have the same purpose.
Removing the front bumper may not be that difficult, but requires some gymnastics ,with the front fenders loosened off as well. Problem is, one or two, of the fasteners may be seized.
And one stud faces the opposite direction.
And cutting those may be troublesome.
Hard to get a hacksaw or dremel or bolt cutters in there.
Thanks guys, that's what I was afraid of. I thought I might get access by removing the turn signals, and being able to get to that stud/nut that way, but the air guide piece blocks it. So the bumper needs to come off, no other way. I've had the bumper off before, and it wasn't too difficult to remove but as I recall, getting it back on and adjusted/aligned properly was a PITA. Plus my bumper isn't in the greatest shape to begin with because the PO ran it without the reinforcement bar & air guide piece when he had a FMIC under there.
is it possible to get to the back of the bumper if you pull the radiator and IC? :P
bumper is not actually hard to pull off
I thought that might be possible too, but even with the IC, IC ducting & radiator out of the way, I realized I'd still be blocked by that plastic air guide piece. And of course the fasteners for the air guide are only accessible with the bumper skin removed.
If you can get ahold of a spare mounting bracket, drill out the stud and with replace with a riv-nut?
Replacing the stud on the bracket with a riv-nut wouldn't solve the problem since you would still have to be able to thread a bolt into that riv-nut from the inaccessible top side of the bumper reinforcement.
I did give some thought to drilling out that one troublesome stud on the bracket, leaving behind a hole there, and using a riv-nut epoxied into the corresponding hole above in the bumper reinforcement. If successful, it would be as easy as threading a bolt in from below, but there are too many practical impediments to getting that riv-nut epoxied into the bumper reinforcement with the bumper still attached - so the bumper has to come off anyway.
That is sort of what I meant. Maybe not riv nut, but a fat fine threaded bolt that will simply grip the bumper plastic. Until such time you have another reason to remove the bumper.
12-15-23, 11:31 AM
